Baba

There is some controversy over the baba and its origins. The Slavic version is a yeasted cake baked in a tall mould; the Polish or Ukrainian version is baked in a fluted mould, giving it the appearance of a woman’s skirt; and the rum baba, the French version, is thought to have been invented by the Polish king Leszczyinski who, upon declaring his cake to be too dry, soaked it in rum, and named it after the story of Ali Baba. All are made from the same mixture.